Wanderings of Iron Man at Couture's

(as seen in the pages of Advanced Iron #60)

IRON MAN (Marvel novel series #6)

"And call my killer… Modok!" -
1979

Author: William Rotsler
Cover art: Bob Larkin
Publisher: Kangaroo Book, Pocket Books, New York.

Unless I am mistaking (it's been known to happen, every once in a while), this is the very first Iron Man novel ever published. Not that there have been all that many throughout the years, but still…

Modok wants to get his hands on Iron Man's armor and he's willing to do anything to get it. When the story begins, Stark is giving a conference at Benford university. He is unaware that outside the auditorium, the entire campus is being literally invaded by an army of A.I.M. agents. When they burst into the crowded auditorium and start shooting at students, Stark dives for his attaché case and starts busting head as Iron Man. A.I.M. is forced to retreat but Iron Man is badly injured in the battle. For Modok, the first initiative has failed, but the war has only begun.

All in all, a fun novel to read. I don't know why, but when I first read this (I was about 17 at the time), I thought it was great. Now, 13 years have passed and, well… I just think it's okay. Must be maturity and old age, right? Naaaah… ;-)

I always thought that Modok was a fun character and he is the main bad guy in this book. His superhuman intelligence and cruelty are well used by the author. Also, you will recognise a lot of old faces like Jasper Sitwell, Nick Fury, Pepper and Happy. Don't expect a literary masterpiece, but simply an enjoyable ride.

In two words: chapter two. It's not badly written or anything, but it's a long retelling of IM's origin and I just can't take that anymore.

I mean, I love Iron Man and all, but in my personal opinion, his origin lacks something, especially compared to the high-drama and adrenaline-filled origins of guys like Spidey, Batman or the Hulk. And by now, I've just heard it all too many times. So I had to skip some pages of that second chapter because I'm simply suffering from an origin-retelling overdose.

As he daydreams, Modok says: "As you have seen, nothing sent against this armor has been effective. The suit is nearly impregnable. You could use it in fires - oil fires for example. No troops could stand against it. A company of trained loyal troops equipped like this… could conquer, control and monitor ANY area, against ANY enemy!"

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